Rugs are a perfect partner in the chilly winters. Whether you want to work or chill around the fireplace, rugs are the most comfortable place to sit on.
But safety does matter when you are close to the fire. Fireproofing rugs or getting a fire-resistant area rug around the fireplace is the latest safety advancement that slows down the spread of fire, avoiding any mishaps.
To understand the concept of fire-resistant area rugs and get to know them better, let’s move towards some of the questions you might be pondering over.
How Can You Tell If A Rug Is Fire Resistant?
The idea of fire resistance is totally different than fireproof. As every material has a confined boiling point, each substance is prone to fire at one temperature or another. Still, there exist some materials which took time to catch fire.
To identify a rug as fire-resistant, look for the material it is made up of. Look for a rug made up of plastic fabric, fiberglass, or hard to burn fabrics. Apart from this, you can also go for chemically coated woolen rugs.
All the fire-retardant materials have a ‘T’ labeled on them. Thus, you can check for the letter ‘T’ on the rug if you want to buy a fire-resistant rug.
Apart from this, the fire-resistant area rugs have specific instructions for washing it. It is advisable to use aluminum trihydrate while cleaning the rug.
What Makes An Area Rug Fire Resistant?
Fire-resistant carpets are the carpets treated with some chemicals to increase their fire tolerance. Some cheap chemicals like boric anhydride or boric acid can improve fire resistance. But at the same time, their toxicity is also well know.
Wool, nylon, and polypropylene rugs are best known for their fire tolerance. The reason being their high boiling and melting point, because of which it took time for them to catch fire.
Among all the materials mentioned above, wool is the preferable material known to make a rug fire-resistant. Wool is known as one of the best natural fire-resistant and provides a greater level of safety comparatively.
Thus, the chemicals and the material of the rug are the factors that made a rug fire-resistant.
Are Wool Rugs Fire Resistant?
If you want a rug as soft as a ball of fur and provides overall safety from fire, then you must go for a wool rug. I agree you might be a little surprised that wool rugs are known for the best fire tolerance.
Wool is known as luxury natural fiber. Because of its high melting and boiling point, it is the green carpet that not only prevents fire but doesn’t affect your health.
If you are worried about the safety and health concerns while using a carpet, then going with the wool carpet is the safest option.
But it is preferable to confirm from the seller whether the wool rug you are using has been tested against fire prevention or not.
Is Polypropylene Rug Fire Resistant?
Polypropylene rugs are known as synthetic rugs. It is made up of four different components, namely, polyester, nylon, olefin, and acrylic. All the materials are derivatives of petroleum and thus have a lower ignition point or more commonly known as melting and boiling point, which means polypropylene is not fire resistant but is prone to fire.
To make the rugs made up of polypropylene fire retardant, they are treated with some chemicals.
All the components with which a polypropylene rug is made up of is harmful to human health. After treating it with chemicals, the health issues add up to become more critical. Thus, although polypropylene rugs are available at a lower price, it is still advisable to prefer natural fiber rugs over them.
Fireplace Rugs
The safety of your family is the most crucial concern, especially when it comes to fire. Many people every year died because of a fire accident. That’s why everything, including houses to jeans and even, is coming fire-resistant nowadays. Rug or carpet is the one thing you place near your fireplace to keep your feet warm on the frozen floor.
But what if that rug catches fire? The result can be dreadful.
When you are worried about fire safety, then a fireplace rug is the safest option. Fireplace rugs are either made up of substances, which have higher melting and boiling points like wool, or are treated with some chemicals, like boric acid, which makes them fire tolerant.
Thus, ultimately, it took a long time for them to catch fire.
How Close Should A Rug Be to A Fireplace?
If you have a fireplace in your room and are thinking of placing a rug in that room, you can follow a few rules. Like:
- Place the rug at the center of your furniture in the room.
- If you want it near the fireplace, then try to place it in front of the fireplace in symmetry.
But placing a rug way close to the fire, even the hearth rug, is like inviting trouble on your own. Thus, it is advisable to keep the rug at least an arm or three feet away from the fireplace to avoid catching fire.
Difference Between Fire Resistance Rugs and Fire Retardant Rugs?
People usually confuse between fire-resistant and dire retardant things and end up purchasing the wrong stuff. But there is a wide difference between both these terms:
- On the one hand, fire resistance is known as a material’s ability to avoid catching fire inherently. In contrast, fire retardant is the material, which has been treated with some chemical, because of which, they gain the ability to self-extinguish themselves.
- Moreover, flame-resistant materials are considered as safe as compared to flame retardant materials.
- Fire-resistant materials tend to self-extinguish themselves as soon as you remove the ignition source, but fire-retardant materials once caught fire. You need to extinguish it explicitly.
Where to Buy A Fire-Resistant Area Rug?
If you are willing to bring a fire-resistant area ug home, then you can consider some online e-commerce website or can head towards your local dealer as well.
If you prefer to buy the rug from a local dealer, you can check the rug’s build, material, and design. You can additionally inspect the durability of the rug on your own. Apart from this, the local dealer will be responsible for any wear and tear of the rug experience.
But if you consider purchasing it from some e-commerce websites, you will not just find a better price point but many designs available in the market. The only of getting a rug from an online store is that you won’t be able to inspect the carpet as long as it delivers to your home, that is, post purchasing it.
With a fire-resistant rug, or more commonly known as a hearth rug, next time, no need to worry about safety concerns when your kids are playing around the fireplace, you are watching a movie, or spooning because of the rug under your feet.
Fire-resistant area rugs are beautifully designed to take away all your worries and enjoy with your family in your free time.
